Best gear for budget Tricopter

[Tactical Ex]

Thanks for checking those out I was think nearly the same thing so that makes me a little more confident in my deal finding abilities. I like the idea of a strong lifter tri rather than an acrobatic one. I'm really leaning towards the combo that comes with the pre flashed ESCs and the servo, the flip 1.5 from whitespy, the power distribution cable from eBay and have my machinist friend cut out David tri frame in aluminum.

 

[Cyberdactyl]

I would like to add a strong +1 on what Cranial says regarding safety. It's one of those weird mixings of toy and hobby-level that gets blurred and the result can seriously injure someone.

That's prop selection. Many people may start with a small micro such as a Hubsan, then decide to build one and see that 'everyone' says that carbon fiber or carbon composite is so much more efficient, decide to put them on their first build, not realizing they have now literally stepped into the danger zone, compared to plastic slow-fly props.

It can't be stressed enough that 'larger' plastic (>4") props will bruise, maybe even cut the skin, but carbon or carbon composite will make hamburger.

 

[Tactical Ex]

I would like to add a strong +1 on what Cranial says regarding safety. It's one of those weird mixings of toy and hobby-level that gets blurred and the result can seriously injure someone.

That's prop selection. Many people may start with a small micro such as a Hubsan, then decide to build one and see that 'everyone' says that carbon fiber or carbon composite is so much more efficient, decide to put them on their first build, not realizing they have now literally stepped into the danger zone, compared to plastic slow-fly props.

It can't be stressed enough that 'larger' plastic (>4") props will bruise, maybe even cut the skin, but carbon or carbon composite will make hamburger.

I didn't see a safety notice from cranial anywhere on this thread but yeah, carbon fiber + first scratch multi = bad idea. I personally don't ever plan on using carbon fiber props. The plastic are cheap and easy to get a hold of, hardly worth the economic side of it for me, not even considering the safety factor.

 

[cranialrectosis]

I put a strong safety message on another thread. I think CyberD had two browser sessions open and posted in the wrong thread.

 

[Cyberdactyl]

Yea that was it Cranial. I posted at midnight on my third glass of wine. . . and wasn't paying attention. It should have gone in the "new to quads HELP" thread.

 

[cranialrectosis]

Yea that was it Cranial. I posted at midnight on my third glass of wine. . . and wasn't paying attention. It should have gone in the "new to quads HELP" thread.

I originally posted my entire Twitchity CF Hex build on codemonkey's thread instead of Twitchity's thread. I caught it 5 minutes later and deleted and reposted the whole build.

Danged third glass of scotch.

 

[RoyBro]

As for your shopping list, I'd stick to the vendors mentioned rather than sourcing through Newegg. Because you're not actually buying from Newegg, but from some unknown vendors in China. RC Timer, Hobbyking, and the others mentioned at least have a track record. And the products they sell have been tested.

 

[Tactical Ex]

Roybro, to a degree I agree with you, I will be ordering the servo from newegg but the other gear I will be getting from a trusted eBay seller I have bought from before. I'll just have to use the newegg card for other things. Hopefully I can dump off some of my collectors items on eBay that are well .. collecting dust, I have a pristine copy of the original Mass Effect Collectors edition that seems to be going for nearly $100 these days so we'll see ... A friend of my father's who works next to his shop offered to cut a tricopter frame out of aluminum for free so I'm super thankful for that. will post pic when it's done.

 

[Tactical Ex]

Got some of the parts in now. Here is the lightweight aluminum frame a friend made for me.

 

[Tactical Ex]

getting ready to pull the trigger on parts now. What do you think of these?
Item Price Link
Motor and ESC combo $19.95 http://www.ebay.com/itm/EMAX-XA2212...Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27ec90ece6
Motor and ESC combo $19.95 http://www.ebay.com/itm/EMAX-XA2212...Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27ec90ece6
Motor and ESC combo $19.95 http://www.ebay.com/itm/EMAX-XA2212...Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27ec90ece6
power dist cable $7.99 http://www.ebay.com/itm/XT60-to-3-5...Power-Breakout-Cable-quadcopter-/371013286613
Flight Control board $23.50 http://witespyquad.gostorego.com/checkout/cart/
Frame $0.00 Custom aluminum coffin body
Other bits and pieces $0.00 already owned


Total FPV gear Price $91.34

 

[x0054]

You listed the same ESC motor pack 3 times. I have Emax motors and ESCs, and they work well. They aren't the best quality, but not bad either. With those motors you will have to build a frame large enough for 11 inch props, and you have to keep the total weight under 850 grams to get that 3:1 ratio you would want to fly well.

I would skip the Power Dist cable. If you can solder, make your own that fits better. Not sure which FC you want to buy, you linked to a cart

 

[Tactical Ex]

It was late last night lol ... I listed the combo 3 times cause it was in an excel sheet that I copied. The fcb is a flip 1.5 pinned strait with cables.

 

[Tactical Ex]

Just waiting on the escs and motors to arrive in the mail. In the mean time I started building. I got the wrong screws because the thread doesn't go up all the way and there is like 2mm missing. I made an extra frame plate so I just doubled up on the bottom for now. I suppose I could use spacers later on because its unnecessarily heavy right now but I'm sure it will fly with the electronics ordered. I have to figure how I want to mount the battery and camera but that will come in due time.

 

[Tactical Ex]

So I started assembling everything and realized that the wire on all the electronics is not quite long enough. currently the booms are 38cm long. It would be a lot easier that adding wire to just cut 6-8cm off the booms and everything would fit fine. With 11in props, you think 30cm would be too short? I know it will be twitchier but I'd actually be Ok with that. Being my first multi rotor would that be a bad idea. I'm not scared of the learning curve.

 

[Tactical Ex]

It's alive! I did the first test flight today and it wasn't so great but I'm positive for the future. I didn't have any YAW issues which is what I was worried about but I did feel like the gyro sensitivity was not high enough because I was manually correcting or over-correcting the whole time. I crashed about 10 times but never broke anything. The props and motors flew off a few times due to failed take offs and the prop biting the grass.

To do:
Raise landing gear for better clearance on iffy take offs to reduce chance of prop strike.
Use smaller Zip ties to bite into the booms and hold the motors better
Double the PID gains to be more sensitive and not require as much manual correction.

If you have any suggestion as to improvements I can make, please chime in. I am using the following primary parts.

Motor: EMAX XA2212 820KV Brushless Motor
ESC: Emax Simon Series 20A ESC w/simonK preflashed
FCB: Flip1.5
Propellers: 11x5 Master Airscrew G/F CCW